Fastener for shoe-uppers.



PATENTED MAY 26, 1903 w. E. ELLIS. FASTENER FOR $503 UPPERS.

APPLICATION TILED MAY 25, 1901.

NO MODEL.

WASHINGTON u c UNITED STATns PATENT Patented May 26,1903.

OFFICE.

WARREN EUGENE ELLIS, OF HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO ELLISLAOER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

FASTEN ER FOR sHosu PPER-S.

SEEGIFILATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 729,300, dated May 26,1903. Application filed m 25, 1901. Serial No. 61,939. (Nd model.)

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, WARREN EUGENE ELLIS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Haverhill, in the county of Essex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFasteners for Shoe-Uppers, of which the followingis a specification.

In the manufacture of lace boots and shoes it is customary to securetogether temporarily, during the processes of lasting and relasting, theeyeleted edges of the uppers in order to maintain them'in their normalposition with respect to each other. So far as I am aware all thefastening devices hitherto used for this purpose are either incapable ofremoval from the upper until after the last has been withdrawn, in whichcase a solid last cannot be employed and a block-last or a hinged lastmust be used, or else they are so constructed that they must be entirelyremoved from the upper or at least from one side of the same before thelast can be withdrawn, in which latter case they must be inserted anewif they are to be used during the process of relastin g and in any casecannot be used with a solidfollower-last.

My present invention is intended to improve upon the prior devices abovereferred to by providing a fastener which can be used with any kind oflast and may remain in the shoe, if desired, throughout all theoperations subsequent to lasting, whether the last is in the shoe ornot, thus being available to fasten the shoe during the process ofrelasting without having to be inserted again at that stage. To this endI have devised a fastener comprising two independent eyelet-engagingmembers combined with means for opening and closing them at will withrespect to each other, whereby the two sides of the top of the shoe mayreadily be separated to permit the withdrawal of the last after lastingand the insertion ofthe stitching-horn, beating-out jack, follower-last,&c., in the subsequent operations performed on the shoe. After thefollower-last has been inserted the sides of the top may be again drawntogether and fastened for relasting in theiroriginal position, and thefastener need not be removed until the shoe is ready to be packed.

A preferred form of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a complete fas tener in its open orextended position. Fig. 2 is a section of the same on the line a; m inFig. l; and Fig. 3 is a section on the same line as Fig. 2, but showingthe fastener in its closed or drawn-up position. I

In constructing a fastener such as above referred to certain problemspresent themselves, of which the first is due to the fact that the frontedge of the last always projects between the two sides of the upper, sothat the eyelet-engaging members of the fastener cannot move directlytoward and away from each other, but must necessarily move to someextent along the sloping sides of the last and must also conform to theangle made thereby when drawn together, and hence the means whichconnect the said members must be so constructed as to be capable ofarching over the edge of the last in all positions of said members.Furthermore, the two eyeletengaging members of the fastener must becapable of assuming various angles with rehinges the fastener may formin all positions of its parts an upwardly or outwardlyextending arch,and the two eyelet-engaging members may make any. desired angle witheach other, and in connection therewith I provide a locking device soconstructed that the ten-' sion put upon the fastener in use is taken upand resisted by the hinged parts of the fastener, and thus has notendency to cause said device to become unlocked when the fastene is inits drawn-up position.

The fastener shown in the drawings is designed to secure two pairs ofeyelets simul taneously, each of the eyelet-engaging members being shownas made of wire and consisting of a longitudinal portion 2 and endportions 3, extendinglaterally therefrom, the ends of the latter beingbent to form eyelet engaging and retaining devices of any desiredconstruction, but preferablyconsisting of eyelet-engaging hooks 4,having extended free ends 5, substantially as shown, described, andclaimed in other Letters Patent granted to me on the 10th day ofDecember, 1901, No. 688,297, although other forms of eyelet-engagingdevices may be employed, if desired.

Around the portion 2 of one of the eyeletengaging members is wrapped oneedge of a clip 6 with sufficient looseness to permit said portion 2 toturn therein, and to the other edge of said clip is hinged a leaf 7, theturned-over edges of said clip being located above the top of the sameand providing a narrow groove or recess between them. At any convenientpoint on the hinged edge of the leaf 7, but preferably at its center, isformed a projecting strip 8, which is 'bent around the pintle of thehinge and extends beyond the same substantially parallel to theremaining portion of the leaf 7, as best shown in Fig. 3, the bottom ofthe clip 6 being cut away, as at 9, to receive said projection, ashereinafter described. To the portion 2 of the other eyelet-engagingmember is hinged a loop 10, preferably by means of a clip 11, wrappedaround the portion 2 and the adjacent side of said loop, as shown. Thetwo members of the fastener as thus constructed are connected by meansof a strap 12, of flexible material, such as tape, which is secured tothe leaf 7 and passes through the loop 10. By preference I double thematerial of which said strap is composed and secure it to the leaf 7 bypassing it through a slot 13, cut therein, the two ends of the tapebeing then passed through the loop 10 and one end being doubled over theother, as shown, the several folds at this end of the strap beingsecured together by means of a rivet 14 or otherwise.

In order to provide for locking the parts in their closed position,(shown in Fig. 3,) a portion of one edge of the clip 6 may be cut toform an integral upwardly-extending projection 15, adapted to springover the edge of a slot or recess 16, cut in the leaf 7, thus forming aspecies of snap-lock, the operation of which will be readily understoodby referring to Fig. 3.

The operation of the fastener above described is as follows: Theeyelet-engaging members are secured one to each side of the upper in themanner described in the Letters Patent above referred to. When thefastener is originally attached to the upper prior to lasting, themembers will be in the closed position (shown in Fig. 3,) with the freeside of the loop 10 held between the upturned edges of the clip 6 andconfined therein by the leaf 7, and it will be noticed that when in thisposition the portions 2 and the two sides of theloop 10 provide, ineffect, four hinges, thus enabling the fastener toadapt itself perfectlyto the contour of any last with which it may be used. The leaf 7 isprevented from turning to release the loop 10 by the snap-lock formed bythe projection 15 and recess 16, and the tension imposed upon thefastener by the lasting process is distributed among the clips 6 and 11and the loop 10 and has no tendency to unlock the leaf 7. When it isdesired to withdraw the last, the free edge of the leaf 7 is pulledupward by means of the strap 12, thereby disengaging the recess 16 fromthe projection 15 and opening the left-hand member of the fastener intothe position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. As the leaf 7 turns on its pintlethe projection 8, which when the fastener is closed lies beneath thefree portion of the loop 10, acts to'lift said loop out of the grooveformed by and between the edges of the clip 6, so that when said leaf 7is turned into the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the loop 10 is freeto slide along said leaf and onto the strap 12, thus permitting theseparation of the eyelet-engaging members to the desired extent. Thefree end 17 of the strap 12 being loose and normally bent outward, theloop 10 will pass beneath said end 17 and will thereby be prevented fromsliding entirely off said strap, the riveted portion of the strap beingsufficiently thick to prevent it from being passed through said loopexcept by the exercise of considerable care. To close the fastener, theoperator takes hold of the riveted end of the strap 12 and pulls ittoward the left, referring to'the drawings, whereupon the loop 10 isdrawn onto the leaf 7, and said leaf is finally pulled over into theposition shown in Fig. 3, carrying said loop with it and dropping itbehind the hinge, which unites said leaf to the clip 6, the edge of therecess 16 being finally pushed down past the projection 15 into theposition shown in said figure, thuslocking the parts of the fastenersecurely together.

It will be seen that by reason of the flexibility of the strap 12 andalso by reason of the numerous hinges provided by the con structionabove described the connecting portions of the fastener will always becapable of arching themselves to conform to a last of any given contourand that the members of the fastener maybe separated to any desiredextent by providing a strap 12 of suflicient length. The two members ofthe fastener are not liable to become separated accidentally or when thefastener is not in use, and yet they are practically free andindependent of each other when in the open position. I

I do not consider my invention to be limited to the details ofconstruction herein shown, since so far as I am aware I am the first toprovide a fastener for shoe-uppers which is capable of being opened andclosed 'IIO over theedge of a last at will, regardless of the shape ofthe last, and is thus adapted to be used with a solid last in relasting.

I do not claim, broadly, herein a detachable fastener composed of twoeyelet-engaging members hinged together along the line corresponding tothe opening between the edges of the upper, as such construction formsthe subject of prior Letters Patent No. 704,451, granted to me on the8th day of July, 1902.

I claim as my invention 1. A fastener for shoe-uppers comprising twomembers each provided with eyelet-engaging devices, in combination withconnections between said members for opening and closing the same withrespect to each other, said connections and members being hingedtogether, and means for locking said parts in their closed position.

2. A fastener for shoe-uppers comprising two members each provided witheyelet-engaging devices, a flexible strap secured to one of said membersand having a sliding engagement with the other member, and means forlocking said members in their closed position.

3. A fastener for shoe-uppers comprising two members each provided witheyelet-engaging devices, in combination with a clip secured to one ofsaid members and provided with a locking projection, a leaf hinged tosaid clip and provided with a recess 16, substantially as described, anda flexible connection secured to said leaf and having a slidingengagement with the other of said members.

4. A fastener for shoe-uppers comprising two members each provided witheyelet-engaging devices, a loop secured to one of said members, aflexible strap secured to'the other member and adapted to slide withinsaid loop, said strap having its free end doubled over upon itself andleft free to bend outward and the folds of the strap beingsecuredtogether at a distance from said free end, and means for. locking saidmembers in their closed position.

.5. A fastener for shoe-uppers comprising, in combination, two memberseach provided with eyelet-engaging devices, a loop hinged to one of saidmembers, a clip hinged to the other of said members, a leaf hinged tosaid clip and provided with a projection 8, substantially as described,a flexible connection secured to said leaf and passed through said loop,and means for locking said leaf and clip together.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 22d day ofMay, 1901.

WARREN EUGENE ELLIS.

Witnesses:

E. D. CHADWIOK, JOSEPH T. BRENNAN.

